… to turn negatives into positives is tough sometimes. Like right now.
Real Life Example: Cost of business + cost of time dedicated per client + cost of goods sold + federal income taxes = more than some people want to pay. Some people, however, will drag out their consideration of booking you, telling you what all they want, a great idea for the session, what they anticipate spending, then back out. Sometimes its a spouse bringing them back down to reality, sometimes its because they assume if someone advertises on Craigslist for pennies, they’ll forgo quality for price. Or try to negotiate. Sorry, I’m not the low price leader and I’m not a flea market. I’m a legitimate small business owner providing a quality product at a slightly premium price.
Because I am a legit business, I have legit expenses. I pay taxes totalling approximately a third of what each session fee and product is priced at. Add in the overhead, product costs, marketing, and future re-investment costs, and double what’s set aside for taxes. Now triple that original amount. That’s my pay. Sometimes I clear a pretty nice sum with a client who spends a pretty penny. Other times, I make less than minimum wage when I calculate how many hours I gave to a client who spends as little as possible but eats up a ton of time with emails/calls, etc.
And then there are those that think I charge too much. Really? Have you owned a business? Paid in self employment taxes? Figured in ‘profit’ to put back into gear that’ll have to be replaced due to wear and tear over time? Covered basic expenses? If you want a crap product at a cheap price, there’s plenty of newbies and undercutters out there willing to deliver. Been there (newbie, not undercutter), done that, and should own the tee shirt. I’d like to recoop something for the thousands I’ve invested of my own money. Money that would have made a very nice down payment on a house instead of starting a business.
Guess how I’m considering turning this negative into a positive …
by girl
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